Only 7% of Seattle’s Multi-Family Pipeline Will Be Offered for Sale

Curbed Seattle recently outlined the significant number of luxury projects that are popping up around the downtown core, noting that all of the activity makes it “easy to look around and think, condos. But the majority of new residential projects going up in the city – and downtown specifically – are destined to be rentals.” Of the new homes under construction, a staggering 6,324 will be offered for rent, with just 489 – or 7.1% - offered for homeownership.

A shortage of Seattle condos is driving resale prices up and fueling strong demand for every new project that hits the market. The article points to KODA Condominiums, which is 98-percent reserved despite opening reservations February 23rd. And, “two years before its estimated completion date in 2019, condos in the NEXUS building are already 75 percent sold out.”

The article notes that there is some reprieve on the horizon, as more developers are considering for-sale multi-family options in response to demand, however they only represent a small portion of the larger picture: “looking forward, about 9 percent of homes in demolition and shoring stages downtown will be condos, and about 10 percent of those in predevelopment.”

Curbed also notes a recent Daily of Journal Commerce op-ed piece written by Blaine Weber, where he outlined the litigation pitfalls that frequently follow new condominium projects in Seattle, given impositions in the Washington State Condominium Act that were designed to protect homebuyers.